The final round of the season sees Brisbane Roar travel to Melbourne to take on the Victory in a bid to wrap up first spot on the A-League table.
With four teams still in contention to take out the premier’s plate, this game will ultimately decide who finishes first with a Roar win securing them the title and any other result opening the door to the other three teams.
The match will be Victory’s third in eight days, a run which has seen them defeat Wellington Phoenix, in New Zealand, 4-1, before traveling to South Korea to play out a 1-1 draw with Suwon Bluewings in Asian Champions League action.
Brisbane head into the final round with back to back wins under their belt. A 3-2 win over Sydney FC preceded a 2-1 win over the Newcastle Jets; a result which didn’t look very likely until Jets captain Nigel Boogaard got sent off.
Currently sitting on top of the table with 47 points, they are the only side to have their finals destiny entirely in their hands. Irrespective of what Adelaide United and Melbourne City do on Friday night, it will count for little if Brisbane is able to beat the Victory.
It would be a dream debut season for coach John Aloisi, whose appointment at the start of the campaign raised a few eyebrows after his poor reign as the then-Melbourne Heart coach.
Key Battle – Jamie Maclaren v Matthieu Delpierre
Jamie Maclaren is arguably the best Australian striker in the league with 18 goals to his name, putting him in second spot on the golden boot standings behind runaway leader Bruno Fornaroli.
The equation has been pretty simple this season: the Roar are a much more dangerous prospect with Maclaren in the side and the Victory will be painfully aware of this.
The young striker had a field day against the Melbourne side when they last met, snaring a hat trick in Roar’s 5-0 romp and there is no doubt Victory’s defence will be looking to learn from their mistakes.
CrownBet match odds at time of publishing
Matthieu Delpierre has been an ever-present and immovable rock in the centre of the defence for Victory. His calmness on the ball and experience has made him a key player to Muscat in his two seasons at the club.
He will be influential in attempting to keep Maclaren under wraps in this game.
Team News
Victory’s busy schedule of late is sure to be a catalyst for some changes to the starting XI. Melbourne will be without Besart Berisha after he was sent off against Wellington Phoenix. Both Daniel Georgievski and Rashid Mahazi have been omitted with the likes of Connor Pain, Jai Ingham and Thomas Deng gaining promotion into the extended squad.
Brisbane meanwhile have no outs and no players unavailable. John Aloisi has promoted Shane Stefanutto and Javier Hervas into an extended squad though he is unlikely to tinker with the side which beat Newcastle Jets last round.
Head to Head
Victory have the slight advantage when it comes to meetings between these teams, with 15 wins to Brisbane’s 12. There have also been six draws. For the season, the sides have a win apiece.
Previous Meeting
These sides met in round 23 with Brisbane producing an utterly dominant performance to run out 5-0 winners. Jamie Maclaren had a hat trick with Corona and Corey Brown providing the other goals.
Prediction
This match sees all the pressure placed on the Brisbane Roar with Aloisi’s men holding all the power in the race for the premier’s plate. Although Victory have secured finals football and cannot finish any higher than sixth place, making this match nothing more than a formality before finals football begins, they too will play a pivotal role in how ladder looks at the end of the round.
Any points the Victory take from Saturday night’s game will determine whether or not the efforts of Adelaide United and Melbourne City on Friday and Western Sydney on Sunday matter in the premiership fight.
This is all dependent on what kind of team Muscat fields and there is no guarantee that he will rest players and put out anything other than his best possible XI; the coach will be just as hungry for the three points.
Victory will need their front half to step up in Berisha’s absence to ensure this contest doesn’t result in another blowout result. Ultimately, Brisbane should get the job done.
Melbourne Victory 1 Brisbane Roar 2
*CrownBet match odds at time of publishing are subject to change
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